Window-shade fixture



F. H. CHILTON WINDOW SHADE vFIXTURE Filed Sept. 19. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l #a Dec. 9, 1924 1,518,252 F. H. CHILTON wINDow SHADE FIXTURE Filed sept. 19. 1922 2 Vshams-snee? 2 Patented Dec. 9, 1924.

UNITE STATES' PATENT CFFICE.

Application filed September 19, 1922. Serial-NC. 589,056.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, FRANKLIN H. CHIL- TON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Union City, in the county of NewHaven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful improve ments in Vindow-Shade Fixtures, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to the class of window shade fixtures adapted to support the shade-roller and permit the same to be lowered and raised at will,the roller being lowered when it is desired to lower the upper window sash for purposes of ventilation and also when it may be desired to admit light through the upper sash and have the shade cover the lower sash.

My invention has particular reference to a new construction of fixtures for supporting the shade roller and providing for the vertical adjustment of the same, and an object of the invention is to provide a set of fixtures for the purpose stated which shall be constructed wholly, or in the main, of sheet metal and hence be light in weight, comparatively inexpensive of manufacture and durable. A further purpose of the invention is to provide fixtures of the character referred `to which shall be e'llicient, not likely to become disarranged with ordinary use and capable of being readily installed, and a further purpose of the invention is to furnish fixtures for the purpose stated which shall not only be. presentable in appearance but shall have a minimum of front surface exposure, the parts of my fixture presenting a front edge exposure as distinguished from a flat front face exposure, and said parts being of sheetmetal and comparatively thin and nickle-plated, it follows'that they have a very limited front surface exposure and will not mar the appearance of a window frame to which they may be applied.

My invention is capable of embodiment in fixtures to be applied to the front face of a window frame for receiving shade rollers to be mounted at the front of said frame and also in fixtures to be applied to the facing sides of a window frame to receive shade rollers to be hung in between said sides.

rllhe fixture of my invention comprises, generally stated, parallel flat sheet metal guide. bars secured at their upper and lower ends to opposite upper verticalportions of the window frame and set to face the front edgewise, special sheet metal runners arranged on said guide bars and adapted to receive the studs on the ends of andy sup- `port a shade roller of the usual spring type,

and specially arranged `cords connected with said runners and adapted for use in lowering and raising said runners `and the shade roller carried thereby, the shade being capable of being unwound from and wound upon said roller in the usual manner in any position of said runners, and said runners presenting an edgewise front facing and being so connected with said cords that the cords travel adjacent to the inner facing sides of the said guide bars where they are protected and out of the way and do not mar the appearance of the window.

The invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a front elevation of a window frame, upper and lower window sashes and roller-shade, equipped with the features of my invention, the sashes being shown closed and the shade in position at the upper end of said frame and partly unrolled;

Fig. 2 is a like. view of the same, the upper sash and shade being shown as lowered, with the shade unrolled to sufiiciently cover the lower sash;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section, on a larger scale and partly broken away, of the same, taken on the dotted line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4L is a vertical section through a portion of the same, taken on the dotted line 4 4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of the same, Fig. 5 being a projection taken on the dotted line 5-5 of Fig. Ll;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the slidable runner employed at the. left hand side of the window frame, although equally appli cable to the right hand side of said frame;

Fig. 7 is a like view of the slidable runner employed at the right hand side of the window-frame, although equally applicable to the left hand side of said frame;

Fig. 8 is a front elevation, partly broken away, illustrating a modied form of my invention, this form being employed when the shade must be set in between the sides of the window frame in lieu of having the outside mounting shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inelusive;

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section taken on the dotted line 9-9 of Fig. 8, and

Fig. 10 is a like section taken on the dotted line 10-10 of Fig. 8.

In the drawings 10 designates a windowframe or casing of usual or any suitable type, 11 the upper window sash, 12 the lower window sash and 13 a shade-roller of the usual spring type on which is wound a window shade 14 and which has on one end the usual polygonal stud 15 and on its opposite end the .usual round 4stud 16.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, 17 designates two corresponding flat sheet metal vertical guide-bars secured at their upper and lower ends, respectively, to sheet metal brackets 18, 19 fastened by screws or the like against the front face and at opposite sides of the frame 10; 20, 21, respectively, indicate the sheet metal runners which I appl upon said guide-bars and are just alike wit the exception that in the face of the runner 20 I form an elongated opening 22 to receive the polygonal stud 15 of the shaderoller, while in the face of the runner 21 I form a round opening 23 to receive the. round stud 16 of the shade-roller, and 24, 25, respectively, designate the two operating cords or cables connected with runners 20, 21 and to be manipulated manually for sliding the runners upwardly along the guide-bars 17 or permitting said runners to slide downwardly on said bars by gravity and the weight imposed on them by the roller 13. i

The bars 17 are plain flat smooth, preferably nickel-plated, sheet metal strips, and at their upper and lower ends said bars are riveted to the brackets 18, 19, said brackets each being in one piece of sheet metal bent angularly to form a base 26 to lit against the face of the window-frame and be fastened thereto and a forwardly projecting arm 27 (Figs. 3, 4 and 5), said arm 27 standing vertically on edge and presenting its out-er end forwardly. The arms 27 have inwardly curved upper and lower edges, and

- rounded outer ends and against the outer faces of said arms 27 the ends of the guidebars 17 are secured by rivets 28. The ends of the guide-bars 17 are rounded to harmonize with the adjacent rounded edges of the bracket-arms 27, so that these parts may present a good appearance. The guidebars 17 are supported frontwardly from the window-frame (Figs. 3 and 5), and said bars have their flat sides facing laterally and their narrow vertical edges parallel with the window* frame, the forward vertical edges of said bars facing frontwardly and thus from a front view said bars presenting a minimum of surface exposure, which is a condition I seek to accomplish, since one of my purposes is to provide fixtures which shall not be unsightly. The bars 17 being plain flat sheet metal strips, may be very readily and inexpensively manufactured, and likewise the sheet metal brackets 18, 19 may be readily manufactured and given au ornate outline, as shown.

The runners 20, 21 are vertically elongated and will be formed in dies and slipped endwise upon the guide-bars 17 before said bars are riveted to the brackets 18, 19. The runners 20, 21 are each in one piece and formed froma rectangular blank of sheet metal whose vertical middle portion is pressed outwardly to form a vertical oilset boxing 29 and whose side portions are bent to form channel members 30 snugly, though freely, receiving and embracing the edge portions of the bars 17 The hearing openings 22, 23 for the roller end studs 15, 16 are formed in the offset portions 29 of the runners 20, 21, and hence said studs may have a substantial bearing in the runners without touching the bars 17. The runners 20, 21 have vertical movement on the guide bars 17 and due to their length and construetion have smooth uniform sliding movement on said bars. In the upper end of the offset portion 29 of each runner I pivot or swivel a wire eye 31, and the cords or cables 24, 25 are at one end shrunk through the eyes 31 and knotted to make connection therewith, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The cord or cable 24 extends upwardly from the eye 31 of the runner 20 and. is threaded through an eye 32 secured to the left hand bracket 18 centrally of the upper end of the left hand bar 17, whence said cord or cable is carried transversely above the horizontal plane of the roller 13 to the opposite side of the window frame and threaded downwardly through a screw-eye 33 fastened to the window-frame.` The cord or cable 25 extends upwardly from the eye 31 of its runner 21 and is threaded through an eye 34 secured to the right hand bracket 18 by the rivet 28 securing the right hand bar 17 to said bracket, whence the cord or cable 25 is threaded downwardly through the screw-eye 33 and extends along the downwaidly extending portion of the cord. or

cable 24. I bring the end portions of the eo-rds 24, 25 hanging below the eye 33 together and knot them together at several places, as at 35, thereby forming loops to be engaged upon a nail 37 or the like for holdingY the shade roller and runners 20, 2l in any of several positions, as will be understood on reference to Fig. 1. The lower free ends of the cords 24, 25 are secured to a ring 36, whose position is such that when the shaderoller is in its extreme upper position, said lUll mienne ring may be hooked upon the nail 37 and cooperate with said nail in preventing the descent of the shade-roller by gravity.

The construction shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10 differs from that presented in Figs. I to 7 inclusive in respect to the positioning of the guide-bars against the jambs of thel window frame for the accommodation of shaderollers to be set in between said jambs. In Figs. 8, 9 and l0 I show one side of the window, the guide-bars at both sides being the same, and therein number 'the guide-baii- 40, the shade-roller 13, runner 20, eye 3l and cord 24 being the same as described hereinbefore. The guide-bar 40 is a strip of sheet metal facing frontwardly edgewise, as is the guide-bar 17 and having its upper and lower ends folded over against the body of the bar to olfset said body from the jamb 4l, to which the bar is secured by screws 43, the upper screw affording an eye 42 for the cable 24 and corresponding in purpose with the eye 32 of Figs. 4 and 5.

The operation of the fixtures hereinbefore described will be readily understood without extended explanation. The shaderoller may be firmly supported at the upper end of the window frame, as shown in Fig. l, by engaging the cords 24, 25 at the upper knot 35 on the nail 87, and when it is desired to lower the shade-roller the cords 24, 25 may be freed from the nail 37 and then on paying out the cords the roller will gradually descend by gravity to any position desired, and may be there supported on another knot 35. If it should be desired to lower the shade-roller all the way down from the upper sash the ring 3G may be caught upon the nail 37 to support the roller in its then position, shown in Fig. 2, in which it kmay also be seen that the upper sash ll has been lowered so as to allow air to enter above the same and above the curtain-roller.

The general method of employing a vertically slidable shade-roller is well known. My invention resides more particularly in the novel construction of the fixtures by which the roller may be supported in its several positions and smoothly operated without noise o-r wobbling.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In combination with a window frame and a spring roller shade therefor, fixtures of the nature described for said roller com prising vertical sheet metal flat strip guidebars secured to opposite sides of said frame with their flat sides facing' laterally and presenting edge surfaces forwardly, runners slidably mounted on said bars having in their facing sides between said bars bearing openings for the end studs of said roller, eyes for cords at the upper ends of said bars, a guide eye fastened to the window frame, cords secured to said runners between said bars and extending upwardly through the eyes at the upper ends thereof and thence downwardly through said guide eye, and means for anchoring the cords at one side of said frame.

2. In combination with a window frame and a spring roller shade therefor, fixtures of the nature described for said roller comprising vertical sheet metal flat strip guidebars secured to opposite sides of said frame with their flat sides facing laterally and presenting edge surfaces forwardly, runners slidably mounted on said bars having in their facing sides between said bars bearing openings for the end studs of said roller, eyes for cords at the upper ends of said bars, a guide eye fastened to the window frame, cords secured to said runners between said bars and extending upwardly through the eyes at the upper ends thereof and thence downwardly through said guide eye, and means for anchoring the cords at one side of said frame, said runners being of sheet metal and having channel edge portions embracing the edges of said guide-bars and out wardly projected middle portions in which said bearing openings are formed.

3. In combination with a window frame and a spring roller shade therefor, fixtures of the nature described for said roller comprising brackets secured to opposite sides of the upper portion of said frame, vertical sheet metal fiat strip guide-bars secured at their ends to said brackets with their fiat sides facing laterally, sheet metal runners slidably mounted on said guide-bars and having r channel edge portions embracing the edges of said guide bars and outwardly projected middle portions in which are formed bearing openings for the end studs of said roller, eyes for cords at the upper ends of said bars, a guide eye fastened to the window frame, cords secured to said runners between said bars and extending upwardly through the eyes at the upper ends thereof and thence downwardly through said guide eye, and means for anchoring the cords at one side of said frame.

4. In combination with a window frame and a spring roller shade therefor, fixtures of the nature described for said roller comprising brackets secured to opposite sides of the upper portion of said frame, vertical sheet metal flat strip guide-bars secured at their ends to said brackets with their flat sides facing laterally, sheet metal runners slidably mounted on said guide-bars and having channel edge portions embracing the edges of said guide bars and outwardly projected middle portions in which are formed bearing openings for the end studs of said roller, eyes for cords at the upper ends of said bars, a guide eye fastened to the window frame, cords secured to said runners between said hars end extending upwardly througl'i the eyes et the upper ends thereoil and thence downwardly through said guide eye, and ineens for anchoring the cords et one side of seid frame, said brackets being of sheet instal end of angle shape havin@ base ineinloers secured to seid frame and 'orwerdlj projecting Het arnis to the outer side feces of which said guide bers are secured, and the eyes at the upper ends of seid hers being extended inwardly toward each other and secured by the ineens which fasten the brackets and upper end of the guide bars together.

5. In combination with e. window frame and a. spring roller shade therefor.. fixtures of the nature described for seid roller coniprising Vertice! sheet nietel liet strip `eguidehars secured to opposite sides of said freine with their Het sides facing laterally und presenting edge surfaces forwudly, sheet inctnl runners slidehly mounted on sind guide hurs hen/ingchannel front und buck edge portions embracing the edges of suid hers und outwardly projected 'facing middle portions in which are formed hearing openings for the end studs o-f seid roller, operatingT cords secured to said runners between seid bers, guides therefor and ineens f'or anchoring said cords at one side of seid if eine for securing` said roller in its positions of adjustnient.

Signed ut Union City, in the county of New Haven. end State of Connecticut, rhis 1rath day o? Sept.. A. D. 1922.

FRANKLIN H. CHILTON. 

